Description of Prior Art and Related Information
Frequently, materials that are to be placed in use, must be compounded or mixed just prior to use because one or both materials are not stable, must be maintained in a sterile environment, are reactive with air and/or water, or the like. Such materials include pharmaceuticals, such as insulin; food products, such as chocolate flavored milk powder; chemical compositions, such as silver salt, hydride salts, and the like; hair dyes; epoxy cements; and the like. These are frequently referred to as two-component compositions. Frequently, one component must be maintained in the sealed state for stability, sterility, or the like. The other component frequently is stable and can be a solvent, such as water, saline solution, or alcohol, propylene glycol, milk, and the like.
Traditionally, two-component compositions are furnished in two separate containers. One or both of the containers may be sealed to maintain its respective contents in a sealed environment. To mix the composition, each sealed container is broken open and its contents are mixed with the other component.
This has never been an ideal situation. One major drawback in this conventional approach consists of the probability of spills. If one of the materials is caustic, or flammable, or extremely reactive, a spill can lead to fire, or the like. If the two components must be mixed in stoichiometric amounts, the loss of a portion of one component can prevent successful mixing and preparation of the desired two-component composition. This is especially true for chemical compositions and a number of pharmaceutical compositions. The transfer of one component to another component also raises the problem of sterility. The air has literally millions of microbes per cubic centimeter. When one component is passed into the container for the other component, or a third container, microbes are carried along into the mixture, contaminating the composition. If either of the components are reactive or sensitive to oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, or air, the mixing has an inherent disadvantage of exposing the component to such materials when blending the two components together.
There is a need for a sealed container which can be opened with minimal exposure to the general environment to permit the mixing of the component from the sealed container with another component without exposing the component in the sealed container to the outside environment.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sealed container having a coupler which threadingly receives a second container.
It is a further object of the present invention that when the sealed storage container is fully engaged with the second container, the act of fully engaging breaks the seal of the sealed storage container permitting communication between the sealed storage container and the second container.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a means of capping a container with a cap assembly containing a sealed container. More particularly it is an object to provide a means of capping a container with a cap assembly having a sealed container, the two containers separated by a rupturable seal within the cap.
It is an even further object of the present invention to provide a cap with sealed container having a large rupturable seal. The seal rupturable when the cap fully engages the container to permit the easy flow of the component from the sealed container in the cap into the container and vice versa.